C.B. Aycock wins ECC golf championship

DUDLEY -- Charles B. Aycock finished what it started when the Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference girls' golf season began in September.

The Golden Falcons fired a team score of 129 and easily captured the ECC championship with a lopsided victory at Southern Wayne Country Club on Monday afternoon.

As has been the case all season, sophomore Tara Simmons led the way for Aycock. Simmons fired a 1 over-par 36, which was good enough for medalist honors. Once the meet ended, Simmons was immediately taken from the final green to the doctor.

Simmons has been battling an illness for nearly a week.

"Tara is a competitor and she didn't want to miss today," said Golden Falcons head coach Roger Rhodes. "She hasn't been able to eat or drink the last couple days, but there was no way to keep her out of this match."

C.B. Aycock finished with a four-match total of 523 -- more than 200 strokes better than runner-up South Johnston (733). The Golden Falcons and Trojans were the only two teams that had the minimum number of players compete in each match.

South Johnston finished second in the team standings on Monday with a 175 total. Cleveland (184) and Southern Wayne (207) rounded out the team scores.

"Golf is a game that takes a great deal of dedication and tenacity and I think our girls learned that this season," said Saints head coach Michael Wiggs. "We had three very young players and I was happy to see that they all stuck with it through the whole season and tried to learn all they could."

Savannah Morgan led the Saints with a 66. Kayla Outlaw (70) and Jakeenia Wheeler (71) completed the Saints team score.

C.B. Aycock advances to the N.C. High School Athletic Association 3-A East Regional at Birchwood Country Club in Nashville on Oct. 25.

"We have a lot of work to do before we get to that tournament," said Rhodes. "I think we need to work on the mental side of the game and obviously get all of our players healthy."